Ari's Duggar Challenge

Alright - so this one called to me, lol. I couldn't resist giving it a try.

I chose the letter T for my family, and hope I remembered all the rules once I got into the game.

Here is my starting couple: Toren and Tori Herd


They didn't have enough money to finish their house, and was only able to put a roof over the master bedroom, nursery, bathroom, and large kids room. The rest was exposed to the elements. And forget wallpaper and floors!


Wouldn't you know they had thunderstorms in those early days? The stove was struck by lightning.


Twice. The stupid firefighter came and told everyone to be more careful - even though it was the rain that put the fire out.


With no tv or computers there's not much to do for fun. Toren plays with a paper airplane. Well, that and try to make babies, lol.


Tori got pregnant the first day - but I didn't take a lot of pics. Their first baby was a girl, Tala. Second born as a toddler - also a girl, Teryl.


I'd never seen babies play in the snow before. They can eat it, too.


With winter here, the family has to be careful not to stay outside for too long. Here's a picture of Tala having just finished supper. In the cold exposed kitchen.


But, don't feel too bad for them. Tala certainly knows how to find fun in the family's rough financial situation.


What...you've never seen a snowman in the kitchen before?


It has been more than a sim week since I started the challenge. The family still has an incomplete house - using the money from their low level jobs to buy a bathtub to bathe the toddlers, pay their bills, buy cribs, and a child bed. They've managed to only buy a few more walls. Walls are expensive! And during the last part of the week they had to live on salad because that's all that was in the fridge and they couldn't afford to restock or buy a new one - even a cheap one. Still no wallpaper or flooring - but they'll get there.

Both are on the second rung of the Law Enforcement career track - so they're bringing in over $800/day now. I'm going to try to keep Tori pregnant so they can collect her maternity leave pay. They are not cooperating getting preggo the third time. Tried like 6 times and still no chimes.

WOAH! Talk about tough beginnings!!!

First of all, your Sims are gorgeous (no big surprise there). HERD cracked me up.
Very appropriate for your soon-to-be large family.

Their house is HUGE! I realize I am only going to play 8 Sims in the household at a time, but
you, Em and Hunter built such gigantic homes, initially.
I normally start out small and add on as I go, when the money starts rollin' in.

It's so funny to see Tala dining in the snowy kitchen, greeting a snow man and making snow angels.
Not something you see everyday but you're right ... walls ARE expensive! lol

Will you be using any cheats or hacks, AF?

So glad you've joined us. Thank you for sharing.

Wow, you're off to a good start (as in having a child aged kid already). The family certainly is roughing it though, aren't they? The snowman in the kitchen is hilarious! Looks like you have a really cute family so far.

Oh, how cold it looks to have supper in all that snow.

The snow man and the snow angel in the kitchen was hilarious

They are very cute Tori and Toren with their kids.

Thanks guys!

Yep the family has it tough - but things will get better. It keeps things interesting for me and gives the family more of a history. That way, when they've reached their 14th child, they can look back and see how hard things used to be when they were just starting out.

I'm hoping to make more progress with this today. I couldn't yesterday because we had thunderstorms and tornado warnings most of the day.

Holy Moly Ari!!! Tough Beginnings indeed!!!

I love your approach though - making them REALLY struggle so that by the time they get to 14 and are doing well - they can look back and really see what they've made of themselves.

I NEVER EVER even thought about playing a house with only a partial roof and where it could SNOW in the kitchen!!!! That busted me up with laughter. I tried to imagine sitting down to dinner in an overcoat and having SNOW in my kitchen. I'm STILL chuckling!!!

I also have to comment on how lovely your family is. I made mine pretty average looking - so it will be a treat to see the little beauties that Toren and Tori produce!

I'm SOOOOOO happy you've decided to join us in this challenge Ari!

I've realized something about this game, and it's very unfortunate. If I don't make the challenge hard I'll lose interest. It's been happening a lot lately, I just can't stay into it very long. That's why I have so many families just sitting around collecting dust. It's always fun starting out, but then my interest just wanes. Sigh.

Anyway, I have some more pics of the last time I played a couple of days ago.


The snow in the kitchen was very amusing to me, lol. Here's Torin cooking grilled cheese sandwiches.


"Daddy, why don't we have a tv? Suzy has one. And Billy, too."

"We can't afford a tv, Sweetheart. Not yet. First we need to finish our house."


"Well, can I have a goldfish, then?"

"Now where would we put a goldfish?"


Finally, finally, the family is able to finish walling in the house. Now they have a roof! Floors and walls are next. Er, disregard the fact that there are weeds in the bathroom and a big hole in the living room.


"I wish we could get a tv."


"Sigh..."


Now that the house has a roof, the snow melts.


Aw, poor Tori works so hard. She doesn't eve realize she has a dog in her leg.


Teryl grows into a child. She sure is a cutie - but where the heck did the blonde hair come from?


YES!! We are knocked up again! Poor Tori pukes her guts out while I cheer.


Tala gossips about her mom. Little turd does this all the time.


The couple has natural twins! And only their third pregnancy. I considered cheating for multiples, but decided it would be more fun and random to let things happed naturally. I didn't expect to get twins so soon. Meet boy/girl twins Trista and Tristan.


The family has managed to save up some money and made major progress on their house. They have wallpaper and flooring over much of the house, now, and they own a tv and video game machine. The large room behind the living room will be a mega bedroom. Not sure if I'll keep it like that, but for now it'll do. On the left side behind the kitchen is the second bathroom and laundry room.


Tala has grown into a teen already. That went by fast. And the girl looks evil. Just plain evil. I wouldn't want to bump into her in a dark alley, that's for sure! For simplicity's sake I just gave her knowledge aspiration. I don't remember if the rules said anything about the teens' aspirations. It's not supposed to be random, is it?

The family is doing pretty well. Their income now exceeds their needs, so it shouldn't take too long to finish the house - and fire up the baby making factory full time. Four kids down, only ten more to go, lol.

Hey Ari!

Fabulous update!!!!

I loved your comment about Tala and gossiping about her Mom. Little Turd. She has grown into quite a pretty turd - but yes, she is devious looking. I love how in the past pic Tori looks on as a proud Mom would - maybe Tala is not so bad.

There's really not a rule about the children's aspirations. The only thing is they need to be successful students. That could be a hard thing with 14 kids, but the Duggars did manage.

I love how the house is coming along. I take it we will not be seeing snow on the kitchen floor next winter and that's kind of sad. It was beautiful in an odd way.

This was a hoot, Ariana!!!
I giggled at half your captions!

Loved the penguin (is he holding a stick out at the snowman?).
I noticed that big hole in the middle of the house. Stray dogs? lol

Tori's hair is beautiful. Do you remember where it came from?
I love the highlights.
Tala the Turd (too funny) has grown up to be a beautiful Sim and yes...
She definitely looks like trouble!
Congrats on natural twins and how far along you've come with their humongous abode.
WOW! That is one big freakin' homestead, lady.
You are really making progress with it AND your Herd fam.
WAY TO GO!

I miss my Kokopellis and can't wait to return to them next week.
Keep up the fabulous job.
I enjoyed your screenshots & witty comments, as always.

I'm trying to figure out how your family couldn't afford enough walls. Their house doesn't look any bigger or much better furnished than mine was starting out. It was entertaining though to see the snowman in the kitchen. :)

Tala really wants a TV doesn't she? That's cute. I think she grew into a beauty, maybe a devious beauty.

The dog on Tori's knee is funny. I know his legs are actually going through her's but it looks like he's just resting them on her knee. lol I agree with Sugah, her hair with its highlights is lovely.

Sugah, I think the stick is actually the snowman's arm. I've never seen a penguin poking a stick around, but I guess anything is possible. lol

I became interested in the Duggar challenge again and wanted to give it another go. Although I do still have access to my original family (via external hard drive), I realized I was no longer interested in them and I really hated the house. It's much more fun for me to start over. This will not be as pic heavy as my asylum thread at Sugah's, but I did snap a few shots to document my adventure.



Meet Slade and Sarah Slew. Both are family sims and are eager to start having children. Now if I were smart, (which usually I'm not) I would have had them both get jobs before getting pregnant, so Sarah would be able to add her maternity leave to the household funds. That plus the vacation days she would have accrued would allow her to stay home nearly all the time. She would never even have to set foot out of the house. But, being the impulsive person I am, I carelessly toss them into bed together before anything else.


I did things differently this time around. I wanted to at least get a full skeleton of a house completed with a roof and doors. They are living on the left side of the house which is finished, the right side is still just a shell with no paper or flooring, but that's ok for now. Except for the conceiving bed (ooh la la), all of their furnishings are the cheapest available. But they had enough for a tv and a game system for fun.


Their second birth resulted in twins girls, Sahara and Savannah. I have a multiples hack installed in my game, but it's random only - meaning I can't select at the time of birth how many children are coming. I left it at its default settings because I liked them which are: Single - 76%, Twins - 15%, Triplets - 6%, Quads - 3%. I also selected the option for both of sims under the aspiration perks (whatever that's called) increased chance of having twins. But it didn't change the value that came with the multiples hack that I could see (still reads as 15% chance to have twins) so I'm not sure what their chances actually are. Their first born was a son named Shea.


Sometimes Maxis is stupid. For some dumb reason, Slade had a fear of having a baby. Um...he's a family sim. He lives to reproduce. But nevertheless, because of stupid programming, he goes into aspiration failure.


Sigh...


Sarah has had a couple of difficult pregnancies, and is often hungry/tired/stinky all the time. Poor thing fell asleep in her birthday cake, only to be awakened by the baby that was set on the floor.


The fourth birth resulted in twins again and Sarah gives birth in the bathroom. This cracked me up, though. She has an icon to 'hand baby to' with a picture of a toilet!


But, being the good wife she is, she waddles into the bedroom to wake up her husband so he can hold the newborn. Then she sets the baby on the floor.


I always get a laugh when 2 sims are sitting at the table, start talking, and then one of them leaves. The other just keeps on going like they're still being listened to. This is first born, Shea, now a teen. It's great to have a teen in the house! He is such a huge help. And because of his getting home early from school, Sarah was finally able to get the job she's been wanting since I started this. She has a job as a dishwasher and doesn't leave until Shea gets home.


The house is mostly done. The family managed to floor and wall everything so it looks like a real house. They're allowed to have another bedroom, so when the need arises (and the funds to match!) then I'll do a little reconstruction to fit another one in. As it is, each of the kids' rooms will hold 4 beds comfortably.

This is not an easy challenge! When the first set of twins was born, the family was really struggling. They were so poor, that buying a second crib left them with only $20! They were literally living from paycheck to paycheck, and poor Slade's daily income was spent before he even brought it home. For awhile, it was all he could do to keep food on the table and buy an extra bed as each toddler grew to a child. And at one point, rebellious little Savannah had a D in school and I kept getting the social worker warning. I had to have dad stop what he was doing and help her with her homework to make sure it was all caught up. She's doing much better now, and the others are A+ students.

But it's a lot of fun so far, because you have to keep your priorities in mind. They don't have things just magically handed to them, they have to work hard for it. And they're happy.

So far, the children add up like this:

Shea
Sahara and Savannah
Sabra
Shrerilyn and Shayne

for a total of 4 births and 6 kids. And only 1 boy so far!

Slade has managed to climb up a few rungs of the architecture ladder, and his bonuses have really helped. And at one point, the double bed became bugged so that only one person could sleep in it. I had to use the move objects cheat to delete it and buy them another. That cost the family $500! I was tempted to sell the computer that whathisface brings all new families, but didn't. In real life, beds sometimes break and need to be dealt with. Now that being said, I was a bad girl and ignored chance cards. Dang it. I should have been a little more adventurous there. I'll take them from now on. I did, however, take out my 'no friends needed for careers' hack so Slade couldn't get promotions without the required number of friends.

More to come!

How really funny this was, Astral you always make me smile, this poor family had a tough winter, did they not freeze to death, I mean the poor baby was nearly over run by snow... any way you got a point there, they are poor and have to work theirs a...s of but still they are happy! If ones seas to the history, people was more happy and stick together, when they had to fight to survival, and in those times when life been good, the society has turned and people has gone wild...

well This was fun, thanks Astral for a big laugh!

You are very welcome, Jackie, and thank you for the wonderful comments. You are a true blessing to the forums.

5 Girls!

I don't blame you for starting over. I think when I finish up with the Spouse Swap and Looney Bin challenges....oh AND repair my Roomies challenge posts - I will return to this challenge. It is a lot of fun because of the true challenges that it presents.

I'm sorry they're struggling and living paycheck to paycheck - but like you, am glad that you find it fun. That's what I found fun about it.

I have to admit that I think I may have lost my family, and may have to start over as well.

Slade and Sarah are very attractive Simmies and I can't wait to see their family grow and grow up.

The house looks easy to navigate and very functional, Ari.

Thanks for returning to the Duggar challenge - it was fun reading about your new family.

Thank you very much, Hunter. This is definitely one of those challenges that looks easier than it is. Finances were tight until the 6th or so child came, but taking care of the brood was relatively easy. Now the family is doing ok money wise - not rich, mind you, but certainly comfortable and will be able to start upgrading their furniture and appliances. But now they have 8 kids and things are getting really hard. Probably because they had another set of twins, and ended up having a pair of infants and a pair of toddlers to look after at the same time!

More kids!



It's time for a birthday! This is baby Sabra ready to make the transition to childhood. Doesn't it look like the red headed guy is really cheering because he's attracted to Sarah? "Yahoo! My best friend's wife is hot!"


In this picture, oldest child Shea changes one of the newborn's diapers. I thought it was funny how three of the girls reacted at the same time. In the background is Savannah, Sahara in the purple skirt, and Sabra in the little red school uniform.


This one cracked me up - Sahara and Sabra react in unison.


Sahara grows into a lovely teen.


Slade and Sarah have a little fun on the couch and are not bothered at all by the fact that Shayne is sitting there watching.


Tired of only having a video game machine to keep fun levels up, I bought the kids some playground equipment. It didn't take long for the brood to go out and take a look.


Sabra takes a go on the merrygoround while big sister Sahara looks on.


But she can't resist giving it a try, herself.


Please...make...her....stop...having...twins. They've had 4 sets of twins so far, and I don't remember which set this is. Often, since I get Sarah pregnant almost as soon as she delivers, the family has a pair of infants and a pair of toddlers to tend to at the same time. Ugh.


Looks like Shea got hit by the Zit Fairy.


The house is finally done, structure wise. I added the final bedroom and the house has all of the required elements. There is a small laundry room next to the second bathroom near the front of the house. There is also a double driveway, but the family doesn't own a car, yet. Now they can concentrate more on upgrading their furniture/appliances. I'm sure they'll all be thrilled with that! Slade is doing pretty well in the architecture career and brings in about $1,100/day. The requirements for getting a promotion are pretty steep - 4 skills and 2 more friends (UGH) - so I may just leave him as is. Sarah has a dishwashing job that she hardly ever goes to because she's either pregnant or using one of her many vacation days because her needs are too low to go to work. It's only an entry level job, and she only brings in about $134/day - but sometimes that comes in very handy.


Sabra grows into a pretty teen, too.

That's it for now. Baby count goes like this:

Shea
Sahara and Savannah
Sabra
Sherilyn and Shayne
Skyler and Squier
Shelby and Shannon

for a total of 6 births and 10 kids! Almost there! Oldest Shea is nearly an adult - he's about 3 days away from his birthday.

Its so nice Astral, that it goes so well for this family,

Sahara and Sabra have become beautiful young Lady's, they are reel pretty Astral , One can nearly think you have created them, so sweet are they, and in a way you did to, I guess, because they comes from genes.Their mother is also very Beautiful, she is like a "Hello can you call an ambulance type of woman", so I can understand, the red haired guy are attracted to her... Shea well he aint so pretty with those rash, but I am sure he will be fine later when he becomes a man... Nice Playground you got to them, I wish I had that Expansion, is it free time?, well it needs all to much, SDR2 Ram memory, well any way more then I got, on the lousy (well I love my computer any way, even if it is old, with out that, I could not come here and talk to you guys, and that should make me real sad, and I should miss you guys, hope it works a while more)

Never hear about someone that makes so many Twins? do you got some Twin hack? or something that you have forgotten... no I guess your just lucky well Thanks for this, I had a good time reading, you do like always a very good job, and are a wonderful Writer...

Thank you for your comments, Jackie.

I think the playground equipment comes with Apartment Life.

And yes I have a twin hack - it's set at 76% chance to have twins. But under the aspiration perks (I think that option came with Freetime), you can select 'increased chance to have twins' for family sims - I have that checked for both parents. Oh man - now I have a twin invasion on my hands!!

I love your computer, too, Jackie, because I would miss you if you weren't able to come talk to us everyday.

Your progress is good Ari ten children in six childbirths that´s good!

They all have beautiful blue eyes.

How do they manage with only two bathrooms?

Ulli - the Duggars managed with only two bathrooms when they had 14 children!!! Can you imagine the horror?

Ari - this family is so lovely. My Goodness - Sabra and Sahara are flipping gorgeous! Their parents should definitely pro-create more often.......even if it is in front of Shayne. That cracked me up!!

I love your pics and your story Ari. They're a genetically blessed and sweet family......much like the real Duggars.

Your new try at the challenge is awesome!

Very nice family. It looks like they're progressing nicely. Sahara is a really pretty teen. It's creepy when adult sims get it on with a little toddler sitting there watching. The playground equipment looks really neat. I'm guess it must be from AL, since I have FT and don't have it in my game. Their work situation sounds like my Duggar family too. The mom hardly ever goes to work and the dad doesn't really have time to work on getting promoted. The father in my family was in the military, so he didn't need too many friends, fortunately, but it was hard to find the time for him to work on his body skill points. It really doesn't take as much money to keep them going as you would think. The maternity leave pay helps a lot. You're doing great. You're making me want to play my Duggar family again. The household was getting too big for my computer to handle, but maybe they wouldn't be so laggy on this one now. Thanks for sharing!

Quote :

Astral wrote: I love your computer, too, Jackie, because I would miss you if you
weren't able to come talk to us everyday.

You are such a sweet girl lady Ari

Jackie - In an earlier post I said I had a 76% chance to have twins (because of a hack), but I actually meant I have a 76% of having a single birth. I only have a 15% chance of having twins - sorry about that!

Thanks for your comments, everyone! I'm having a lot of fun with this challenge, but the longer I do it, the harder it gets. Having only 2 bathrooms is very difficult at times, but everyone just has to take turns.

I looked at Slade's promotion requirements and was shocked to find out that he actually needs 7 skill points and 2 or 3 more friends. Pretty sure that's not going to happen simply because there is not enough time. With Sarah spitting out twins every few days, it's all he can do to manage to keep his needs at a decent level, there's no time for studying and hanging out with his buddies, lol.

Looking back, I should have put Slade in the military, because it pays well, but the best paying job the first day of play was architecture, so I jumped at it and didn't look back. But they are managing well. His salary is more than enough to meet their needs, and now they're starting to buy some nice cabinets for the kitchen. They have 1 car (a cheap one, but hey, it runs), and a nice table.

I will have more pictures to post soon.

A couple more pictures:


Things aren't going so well for Shea. He's only 3 days away from turning into an adult and his aspiration is in the red. As a knowledge sim, you'd think it would be easy for him to be happy, but he consistently rolls ridiculous wants that I can't meet. Here, he takes his teen angst out on someone's painting.


Sara enjoys the wonderment of being pregnant.


This cracked me up. It was someone's birthday and everyone was gathered around when all of a sudden, baby poos. Everyone, in unison, reacts to the smell.


When you're an exhausted toddler, walls mean nothing to you. You can pass out right through them!


I was worried about Shea's mood. He had a want to do homework. The want doesn't specify whose homework, so I had him grab his little sister's assignment. Come on, Shea, this is elementary school work!

Shea: What comes after C?


Shea manages to grow up happily into an adult. Not too shabby, either. I had to move him out. I enjoyed having him around because he was a huge help with the little ones. He's also the best cook in the house.


Ok ENOUGH with the twins already!! Welcome to the world, Shawna and Sheldon.


A couple of the kids built snowmen in the yard. Which kids? How the heck should I know? There are too many to keep track of.


Sarah: Hmm, I don't know. I think this chili needs a little more fire.

Kid count:

1 - Shea
2 & 3 - Sahara and Savanah
4 - Sabra
5 & 6 - Sherilyn and Shayne
7 & 8 - Skyler and Squier
9 & 10 - Shelby and Shannon
11 & 12 - Shawna and Sheldon

12 kids, only 2 single births!! I tried to play this family the other day and realized I didn't have the energy, LOL. But they're almost there. Whew!

Ari - you're doing such a great job and flipping cracking me up at the same time. You're so funny!

This is a beautiful family. Thanks for playing and sharing with us.